As Cold As Death
by FireBugDemon727
Summary: Death is less than thrilled to find that his only proof of his brother's innocence happens to be a mere human. But what turns his disdain into curiosity is that her determination knows no bounds, she doesn't lack intelligence or sarcasm, and she doesn't take no for an answer. What will become of our dear Rider when the fire of her very soul thaws him out of the ice for good?
1. Chapter 1

"Hellguard, to arms!"

Andrea let out a huff of air, her hot breath misting into a thin fog as it hit the cold air. She brushed a few loose and soaked shards of black hair from her ponytail out of her face before gazing over the half wall of concrete that was her cover. Streaks of blazing gold and aqua blue whizzed past her as they began to slaughter her undead roadblocks.

Strapping her sniper rifle across her back, she pulled the worn black hood of her jacket over her head before slapping a fully loaded magazine into her silenced .50 caliber Desert Eagle. Pressing her back against the wall, she slowly crept to the still standing door way just three yards away. She poked her head out just enough that she could see the angels fighting off a horde of what they called the Swarm.

Raising her gun, she managed to take out a few zombies coming in on one angel's blind side. Six more bullets flew into the fray unnoticed, embedding themselves in rotten heads and chests. Andrea stopped firing once there was only a handful left. The angels finished off the last of the horde before regrouping.

"Uriel," a gravelly voiced warrior flew up to who she presumed to be the only female angel. She was clad from head to toe in golden armor with blue details and accents like the rest, but her armor was more intricate and she wore no helmet. "The horde has been defeated and the nearby streets are clear . . . for now."

Uriel nodded, long white hair falling over her shoulders as the hard line of her pursed lips softened. The pair of bright golden wings protruding from her back flapped a little bit gentler, casting a pulsating, heavenly glow on the almost black rubble beneath and around her. She floated over to a headless statue before planting her feet on its shoulders, metal heels clicking against the stone. She was rather tall for a woman, standing nearly six feet tall with heels on.

When Uriel's golden eyes casted a glance in her general direction, Andrea retreated behind the wall.

Not that the angels would hurt her. They didn't seem overly concerned about her race, but she wasn't about to trust that fact that they were supposedly divine supernatural creatures with nothing but compassion for her kind. It's wasn't safe to travel alone anymore, not with a pack of drooling, undead corpses lingering around every corner. And the bastards were _fast _too, unbelievably so. Andrea was just glad she was able to outrun them, but she'd learned that it was easier to hide than run. It was even easier to shadow the angels and use them as cover to sneak around the Swarm and the more brutal demons.

While she didn't trust them, and they probably didn't trust her, it gave her some comfort knowing that she had a form of protection from the demons.

Standing to her full height which was just a few inches shorter than Uriel, Andrea reloaded her pistol before sliding it back into its holster strapped conveniently around her right thigh. Yanking her duffle bag off the wet floor and slinging it over her shoulder, she jogged back through the building before slipping out the door she'd come in through. Sauntering down the cracked sidewalk, Andrea grumbled as fat rain drops pelted her face. Yanking her soaking hood down as far as it could go, she kept walking.

The rain never stopped in this damned city, and neither did the damned. She had seen a lot of shit when she was a soldier in the U.S. Army. She had witnessed innocent people killed because the guy holding the gun took an unbelievable amount of joy in the screams and pleas of the terrified, starved and feral dogs devour corpses like they hadn't eaten in a year, and even got to see her comrade's head get blown off in the middle of a firefight.

But nothing compared to this.

The very sidewalk she walked down now was once filled with hundreds of humans each day. All of them going from one destination to another as fast as they could. Cars filled the streets, angry drivers honked because nobody could move at a decent pace. Sometimes the smell of coffee and donuts wafted through the doors to her once favorite café where she used to have her coffee, eggs, bacon, and toast specially delivered by the handsome waiter who always hit on her.

The handsome waiter who was probably a rotting, maggot infested, undead corpse by now.

But now, nothing prowled these streets except for the monsters that haunted children's nightmares. The monsters that kids checked under their beds and closets for. The monsters they thought their night lights could protect them from.

Andrea sighed, kicking a pebble ahead of her just to kick it again. She hadn't seen another human for almost two months now, let alone a child. After spending nearly a year running from the mutated zombies, she was sure of one thing.

The infamous apocalypse had finally come.

Angels were real. Demons were real. They were warring on earth.

And there wasn't a damn thing she could do about it.

Andrea wasn't sure if she ever believed in God or the Bible. She'd never really bothered to think about it, but with proof whizzing by her every minuet, she didn't have much of a choice did she?

When the deep bellow of a horn tore through the air, Andrea took off into an alley. The harsh beat of feet and shrill cries echoed off the brick walls as she darted across the concrete. Turning right, she climbed through a broken window into a crumbling building before jogging up a set of mostly broken stairs. Once she got to the second floor, Andrea found the best window to snipe from. Dumping her bag on the floor, she slung her rifle off her back before resting her elbow on the sill as a stand. She cocked her gun before one of her eyes peered through the scope.

She started firing the moment an undead's head found its way into her field of vision. The Swarm seemed much bigger this time. . . . and they brought friends too. A tall, flaming, bloated, green and orange boogieman thing came running down the street. She would have laughed if it weren't for fact that once it got near the angels it exploded, the force throwing them back. A few more came barreling towards them. She only managed to take two out before an angel with an enormous cannon blasted it to little bits with one shot.

Turning away from the window, she checked behind her to make sure none of the Swarm had tried to ambush her. That's when she heard it. The sound of a shrill, air shattering scream pierced her ears. Andrea scrambled to her feet, wildly looking out the window to see where it had come from. It almost sounded like. . .

A child.

Her heart beat a mile a minute as she frantically looked for the source of the scream, but with all the grunts, gunfire, thunder, rain, and vicious snarling, it was almost damn near impossible! Through the thick fray, she managed to spot two being that were different from the rest. A tall man, human, with shaggy brown hair, white skin, dressed in a button up shirt, jeans, and boots with a gun strapped across his back, carried what looked like his daughter as he ran, followed by a new band of demons.

Iconic demons! Real demons that were ripped, red skinned, with horns and everything! Time seemed to slow down as they started to gain on him. She could only watch as the demons tackled him, wrenching the child from her father's arms before they threw him into a nearby wall. The force was great enough for the wall to give in and the bricks buried him completely. She swore she could hear the crunch of breaking bones over the sound of chaos that filled the atmosphere.

The demons then sprinted for the building the angels guarded with the child in tow. Instinct kicking in before logic, Andrea jumped from the window and landed on her hands and feet. She broke into a sprint, heart pounding with fear and adrenaline as she closed the distance between her and the building.

Throwing the doors open, Andrea whipped out her pistol before shouting, "LET HER GO!"

Her heart plunged into her stomach when three massive demons greeted her. They stood at least eight feet tall and were probably three times her size. They stomped their hooves on the ground before strangled roars tore from their throats, causing strings of spittle to fly from their mouths that were filled with sharp, broken, and jagged teeth. Just as one raised his spiky axe, a dark and raspy polyphonic voice reverberated off the walls.

"Stand down!" it ordered.

As commanded, all three demons began to back away from her, snarling and growling in displeasure. Once the three Red Hulks parted ways completely, she could finally see where and who the voice had come from.

Standing on the other side of that looked like a pool of swirling aqua blue water was a tall and thin hooded creature clad in nothing but pitch black robes with gold lining. It turned around with the child cradled in its arms. She had to be no more than five years old as she clutched onto her ragged teddy bear. Just the sight of her made Andrea's heartstrings fray. The poor thing was thin and tiny, skin sickly pale and bruised. Her curly blonde hair was tainted brown with dirt and matted into greasy locks that stuck to her rosy cheeks. And behind those closed lids were probably a pair of beautiful blue eyes that no longer sparkled with innocence.

"Pretty, isn't she?"

Andrea turned her attention back to the creature when it's voice came again before her brows pinched together. She couldn't tell if the hood was masking it's face or if it had one to begin with, but when it's thin needle like fingers grazed the girls cheek, drawing thin streams of blood, Andrea aimed her gun at what she presumed to be a 'he'.

"So fragile. So tiny. So. . . innocent." He chuckled darkly. "Well . . . maybe not so innocent anymore, but still delicate. Tell me human," he raised his head, revealing two red glowing orbs that seemed to pierce her very soul. "Why'd you come to save this youngling? She is not yours."

"No, she's not, but she's not yours either." She growled.

"True," he said with a nod. "But your kind never seems to be concerned with the ailments of others. Why change that now?"

She snapped, eyes blazing. "I'm concerned because you killed her father and kidnapped her! Your kind has nearly killed off every human left. Why can't you leave the rest of us alone? What more do you want?"

He shook his head before raising his free hand. Blue runes and text swirled around his wrist before another pool opened above the one on the ground. "More than your feeble mind can wrap itself around," Threads of colors started to pass between the two portals. "And besides, why leave unfinished business . . . _unfinished_?"

In a heartbeat, Andrea shot off a bullet towards his face. A static filled cry exploded from the creature's throat as she bolted forward to grab the child. Her fingers brushed the fur of the bear before she was snatched up off the ground from behind. The thick material of her hoodie nearly choked her as she hung, suspended in midair. The ugly mug of one of the three demons was all she could see.

"Pathetic human," he spat in her face before tossing her back.

"No!" she cried as a wave of numbness washed over her body. She lingered in the air, feeling as though her back and chest would snap and crack under the agonizing pressure the portals were putting on her. A harsh pounding sensation wreaked havoc on her head as the screeching sound of a rusty sewing machine sliced through her ear drums.

Then the blinding white light that flashed before her was washed out by the darkness of unconsciousness.


	2. Chapter 2

Andrea wasn't sure how she felt. One second she felt like she was going to burst like a water balloon that was under too much pressure and the next she felt weightless and free like a feather or cloud. Just as the blinding white light had swallowed her for a mere second, the darkness took her back just as fast. The feeling of thousands of needles poking her skin crept from her toes to her scalp. The bellowing chug of a freight train pounded in her ears. The pressure came again as an invisible hand. It pushed down on her chest, forcing all the air her lungs could possibly hold out through her mouth. It was as if the darkness was closing in on her. It pushed and pushed and pushed, as if she were some deadly secret no one in the entire universe could know about.

Suddenly, the pressure lifted and she fell into a kaleidoscope. Thousands, maybe even millions of colors swirled around her. They embraced her, pushing the darkness away. The feeling of pins and needles was gone, along with the sound of the train and the touch of the invisible hand. The soft fluttering of butterfly wings tickled the pit of her stomach. Gravity seemed to be nonexistence as she floated aimlessly in this myriad of bright hues.

Then she hit something.

_Hard_.

All the colors were gone. She tried to open her eyes only to be blinded by the rays of the sun. Sharp blades of what felt like grass prickled her skin through her clothes. Andrea rolled onto her side, resting the side of her face on the cool earth beneath her. She tried to open her eyes again. Slowly, her vision cleared and the world broadened into shapes and depth perception. Andrea sat up and her eyes pulled in every detail of her new surroundings.

The place was lush with plant life. Vines twisted around the dark trunks of large trees and continued onto their flowering branches that created a canopy above her. Boulders fit snuggly into the dirt near her while silhouettes of huge mountain ranges cut into the sky far out in the distance. The sky itself was blanketed in clouds. White wispy clouds floated over the peaks of the mountains while ones of deep gray rumbled with thunder above them. However, the clouds couldn't block out the sun as its rays shined through, casting a hazy glow on everything it touched.

And at the center of it all stood the biggest tree Andrea had ever seen.

She leaned back against a boulder as she gazed at the tree. It was absolutely enormous! It towered over everything in the land. Its light grey trunk twisted up to its branches that emitted a soothing blue light, making the surround area look even more like something out of a fairytale.

_This is definitely not Earth. _Andrea thought as she chuckled to herself. It almost seemed too good to be true. One minuet she was trying to save a little girl and the next she had fallen into a portal that transported her to some fantasy world that she had no clue existed.

Andrea jumped when the rock behind her started to move. Scrambling to her feet, she whipped around just in time to see thick, black tendrils explode from the ground. They wrapped themselves around the boulder before latching onto smaller rocks. Within seconds, the black matter morphed the stones into a body nearly 10 feet tall. Andrea froze, unsure if she was just seeing things or if it was really happening. When the rock giant's eyes flared to a bright yellow and it bellowed right at her, she ran.

With a ragged shriek, she burst into a sprint, legs carrying her as fast as they could while the golem gave chase. Zigzagging around rocks and tree roots, she managed to stretch the distance between her and rock giant. She slowed to a halt when she reached a small clearing. She looked back the way she came while trying to pull oxygen into her lungs. The giant was nowhere in sight, but that didn't mean she got away.

Andrea patted her hips and legs for the weapons she carried on her. She dug her hand into her left pocket and yanked out her switchblade. Pressing the small button under the cross guard, Andrea took comfort in hearing the blade spring from the handle and click into place. There wasn't much to it. It was a simple yet sturdy five-inch long stiletto knife. Her dad had given it to her a few years ago along with the pepper spray in her right leg pocket. She ran her finger along the edge, making a mental note to sharpen the dull edge when she had the chance.

Wait.

Wasn't her kit in her duffle bag?

All the emotion drained from her face. She hadn't woken up with it. A sickening feeling rose from the pit of her stomach when she slapped a hand on the back of her shoulder.

The butt of her rifle should've been there.

She squeezed the handle of her blade so hard her knuckles went white as the cold sting of self-loathing washed over her.

"What the hell was I thinking?" She cursed at herself, following it up with a hard smack to her forehead.

How could she have been so stupid? You didn't just abandon your weapons, especially when they were the only thing that stood between life and death! Granted, she had her pistol and whatever ammunition she still had in her pockets, but the measly little thing wasn't going to do shit against stone. The golem wasn't made of flesh and vital organs. It also couldn't bleed out.

She sheathed her blade before stuffing it back in her pocket, hoping to God that no one stole her stuff and if they did, she hoped they'd use it well.

A frown touched her face when the sun suddenly disappeared and a huge shadow passed over her. She looked up and her heart dropped when she realized it wasn't the storm clouds.

It was the FREAKING golem.

Adrenaline coursed through her veins once more as she took off towards the trees. The earth shook beneath her feet when the golem hit the ground with a thunderous boom. A terrified shriek tore from her throat when something massive flew past her head. She tumbled to the ground when a huge stone mace smashed into a tree. The tree snapped in half with a sharp crack as its trunk exploded into thousands of pieces.

She shielded her face as wood shards pelted her like harsh rain. Scrambling back to her feet, she continued to dash with the golem chasing her. Looking ahead, she caught sight of a fallen tree trunk blocking the road. When she got closer, she burst into a sprint. At the last second, Andrea jumped, landed on the trunk, and launched herself into the air with everything she had.

Time seemed to slow as she soared higher into the air, but it was short lived when a blinding pain lashed across her back. The world spun as she hurtled through the air, flipping and twisting like a boneless ragdoll. A shrill cry exploded from her throat as branches and thin tree limbs smacked and cut her from every angle. Air enveloped her again before she crashed into something else.

Shouts that were not hers filled her ears as she collided with a hard wall of cold flesh. She and whatever she slammed into hit the ground and rolled into the dirt. Andrea could only groan as the muscles in her back screamed in agony and her heartbeat pounded in her head. The writhing body beneath her growled before its chest rumbled with an angry masculine yell.

"Get OFF of me!"

She could only give a pathetic yelp when huge hands shoved her back. A flash of grey and brown zipped past her as she sat up. It wasn't until the burning skin that covered her bicep touched her cooler forearm that she realized her jacket was gone. Her tanned arms were covered in scratches from her fingertips to her shoulders. It looked like a bunch of angry cats had used her arms as scratching posts. The familiar taste of warm copper filled her mouth as her tongue throbbed wildly. She spat the blood out and shivered at the sight of the claret beads sliding down the blades of grass.

She turned her head back around only to find herself in the shadow of the mountain of a man towering over her. She first caught sight of huge, heavy boots made of and wrapped in leather. Her gaze traveled up further where thick, leather pants covered his legs while brown leather straps and a thick belt held his thigh and hip armor in place. Bearing no shirt whatsoever, she could see scarred alabaster skin stretched tightly over every bulging muscle that formed his upper torso. Elbow high gloves that matched his armor protected his arms and hands that held twin scythes tightly in their grasp. Midnight hair matted into thick locks framed his face obscured by a mask of bone. In place of empty eye sockets were two solid orbs of blazing amber that even without pupils, glared sheer lividness and superiority at her.

A 10-ton stone dropped down into her stomach. Goosebumps crawling across her skin roused the hairs on her arms and the back of her neck to stand on end as her eyes locked onto his. She was suddenly aware of everything around her and everything touching her. She was aware of every little spec of dirt that dusted her from head to toe and every needle of wood that poked her through her clothes. She was aware of how her tongue still throbbed in time with her heartbeat and how the bitter tasting, liquid copper leaked from the small bit of spongy flesh she'd bitten off at some point during her flight and crash.

"Who are you?" A deep and gravelly voice growled demandingly from behind the mask.

Andrea only gaped at him. If the circumstances were different, she would've jolted to her feet and took off in the other direction. However, she sat as still as stone. Unmoving. Unwavering. Caught like a deer in headlights, she didn't know whether to be enthralled or terrified by the warrior before her.

When she failed to answer, he shifted his weight with a guttural scoff. "Are you deaf?"

"There is no need for violence, Horseman."

_Horseman?_ Andrea pushed the question off to the side. She finally managed to regain control of her eyes and lean right to see where the new voice had come from. If she thought the guy standing front of her was mountain of a man, she was sorely mistaken when the 'Horseman' moved to the side and a _giant_ took his place. His lower body was clad in cloth robes and a leather belt while his upper body sported blue and gold armor along with cream-colored furs. While he was nearly three times the size as the gothic warrior still glaring at her, he wasn't as intimidating with a grandfatherly complexion and a braided Santa Claus beard held together by a single gold circlet.

Every nerve in her body that teemed with anxiousness and fear calmed when the giant smiled gently down at her before speaking in an aged but soft voice. "Stand little one. I will not hurt you."

Andrea stood. As soon as she reached her full height, the giant stretched out a hand and a warm light shone from his palm until it reached her skin. She watched in amazement, for within seconds the scratches and cuts on her arms healed, and disappeared as if they'd never existed. After the blistering pain in her back disappeared, the man pulled his hand back. Her lungs pulled in a deep breath before sighing in content. She felt rejuvenated and clean or like she'd just slipped into a bath that was just at the right temperature.

She brushed herself off as the scythe wielder spoke impatiently. "My question still hasn't been answered."

"She is human," the elder giant answered and the Horseman's eyes went wide. His head snapped towards her direction and he looked her up and down as if he saw her in a new light.

"Impossible," he murmured in disbelief. "Armageddon was unleashed on Earth. She should be dead. Human," he barked and threw a finger in her direction. "How did you get here?"

"I got caught between two portals. At least . . . I think they were portals," She rubbed the side of her neck as she answered, figuring it would be best to keep things simple and straightforward until all the questions percolating in her mind could have their rightful answers.

"There are open portals to Earth?! What in damnation—!"

"Ah. I see," the giant chuckled while stroking his beard, cutting off the agitated warrior. "She was caught in the unstable feedback between two portals. I am surprised you did not perish during your travel, young one. Not many mortal creatures can survive such an experience." He turned back to the Horseman. "You should take her to the Forge Sister. She will give aid to both of you."

"Excuse me?" The man blurted with eyes blazing. He hung his scythes on his belt before throwing a hand in her direction. "I will not take such a primitive creature with me on my journey. My mission is already complicated enough and she will only be a hindrance."

_Oh. Screw you too, Skelly. _She glared at him, making a mental note to return the favor when the opportunity presented itself.

"That may be," the giant conceded, "but she is living and breathing proof that your brother is innocent and considering how desperate you are to save him, it would do you well to accept her as your responsibility."

"Whoa! Hold on," she threw her hands out. "I just got thrown into a world I had no clue existed and now you two get to up and decide what happens to me and who's responsible for me, like I'm some piece of property? The hell?!"

Next thing she knew Skelly grabbed her by her arms, steel like fingers digging into her biceps. It was then she realized just how much smaller she was than him. At just over five and a half feet tall, she usually stood at shoulder height compared to most men. But the irritated warrior standing in front of her was well over a full head taller and easily twice a wide.

"You have no choice," he growled sternly. "You have no chance of surviving here on your own."

"That may be, but I'm not about to let the beefcake version of Skeletor think he can just haul me off to wherever he pleases!"

If he even understood her reference, he ignored it and tightened his grip. "As I said, you don't have a choice. You are in a world where you cannot defend yourself. That and the maker is right. I need you. So until I find a way to reverse what has happened, I'm haplessly responsible for you."

She hiked her chin up and stared him straight in the face. "And who are you to claim such power over my fate and wellbeing?"

His eyes narrowed as he leaned in closer. She suddenly regretted being so bold as he gritted his next words through his teeth. "I am Death, the Fourth Horseman of the Apocalypse, and unless you want the fate of being squished to a fleshy and bloody paste, I'd suggest you cooperate and follow my lead."

If she could've, she would've slapped herself for not putting the pieces together. Considering the giant addressed him as Horseman earlier and it would probably take more than a hundred greasy burgers from Five Guys to add 10 pounds to his lanky form, not to mention the pale skin and mask, it should've been more than obvious.

She dwelled on her situation. He was right. There was no way she was going to make it alone, not to mention she didn't even know where in the universe she was. While she hated having no control over anything at the moment and handing her life over to Death himself didn't make for the greatest situation, he was her best bet for making it through this twisted mess.

A small smile tugged at the corners of her lips as she laughed internally.

_How ironic. Death is going to protect my life. _

She audibly exhaled and gave a curt nod. "Alright, lead on."

He let go of her before hooking an arm around her waist and yanking her flush against his chest. Before even a word of protest could leave her throat, he jumped straight up as green fire erupted from the earth beneath them. Just as fast they went up they came down and Andrea found herself sitting in front of Death in the saddle of an enormous horse. The horse reflected his rider perfectly with pale flesh, visible bones, and the same green fire that was present in the shards embedded in Death's right pectoral muscle made up the horse's mane, tail, and blazed around his hoofs.

With a slight kick from Death, the horse reared up and started to gallop towards the forest. When they were going at a decent pace, Andrea tilted her head up and to the right before calling out over the steed's loud hoof beats, "Promise to explain what's going on more clearly during the ride?"

She felt his hair tickle her shoulder as he leaned forward before rasping, "Let's get to the forge first. To explain everything would take longer than our travel and I don't even know where to begin."

She nodded and continued to watch the trees and vegetation blur into streaks of every shade of green as they whizzed by. She also began to muse on the crazy hand fate had dealt her. Here she was, a normal human woman who had lived a normal life just like everyone else, riding a phantom horse with her "guardian" who happened to be Death himself, in a lush world with giants, living rocks, and God knows what else.

She shook her head with a smile.

What had she gotten herself into?

* * *

**Oh my god! I finally got this chapter done! I'm so sorry for the late and long overdue 2nd chapter. I'm still working on Death and Andrea's interaction and all that other stuff. I lost my creative juices and flow somewhere. Gotta go find 'em! Hope you enjoyed reading! Death shall also be known as Beefcake Skeletor. XD**


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